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Europe's national security system 'years out of date'

Update to Schengen Information System still facing delays and uncertainty

The Schengen Information System holds personal information on citizens from 27 countries in Europe

The technology underpinning a Europe-wide government database used for
national security and border control is years out of date, with sweeping plans
to overhaul the system in danger of being shelved if the delays continue.

Updates to the system, overseen by the European Commission (EC), have been
stalled by technical setbacks, much to the frustration of the EU Parliament and
Council.

The
Schengen
Information System (SIS) holds personal information on citizens from 27
countries in Europe, including name, date of birth, place of birth, physical
characteristics and nationality. It is described by the EC as a "vital factor in
the smooth running of the area of security, freedom and justice".

Only five countries were originally participating in the SIS, but calls to
update the underpinning technology for security and efficiency reasons have
increased since 1996 when other countries began joining.

The EU has also discussed plans for the updated system to store more citizen
data, and offer better integration with police institutions. Part of the vision
is for it to be an effective tool in combating terrorism, especially since the
11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.

However, some human rights organisations, such as
Statewatch
(PDF), have argued that the expansion of the SIS and the extra data it will
gather should be a matter for public debate.

The overhaul of the SIS has been a matter of discussion at EU level for over
a decade, according to European documents, but the update to what is now known
as SIS II appears to remain at the blueprint stage.

The EC said in a
statement
published three years ago: "The current SIS was designed to cope with 18 s
tates. Its technology is clearly outdated and the new development possibilities
should therefore be studied.

"Following the Council meeting on 28 and 29 May 2001 which confirmed that
priority must be given to developing SIS II by 2006, the Commission agreed to be
responsible for financing and developing the system."

EU spokespeople and recent reports suggest that the delay is partly caused by
the EC having difficulties securely transferring data to the new system.

A European Council spokesman said that the Council of Ministers would meet
later this month and reassess the whole update process.

"Some member states have argued that, if no progress has been made, we should
just forget the overhaul and instead moderate the present system," he said.

A European Parliament spokesman with responsibility for the Civil Liberties,
Justice and Home Affairs Committee added that there is a lot of pressure on the
EC to make the updates.

"The new system was meant to be in place by 2008, now the deadline is 2011.
The next generation of SIS will be more secure and more consistent for the
growing number of countries accessing it," he said.

"What we have been having to do is adapt the initial system to all the
countries that have started joining it."

The EC was not immediately available to comment.

Commentators have raised concerns about how the number of terminals on the
system,
estimated
at around 500,000, could leave it open to illegal access, and how this has
actually occurred in the past in Belgium.

Plans are currently underway to establish a new EU agency that will manage
the SIS, as well as the systems monitoring EU visa entry and illegal
immigration. The SIS is currently managed in Strasbourg, but the plan is to move
it to another country in Europe.

The central IT agency will be in charge of the SIS maintenance work and
technical developments. It will also be responsible for ensuring a high quality
of service for users, the security of the system and the level of data
protection.

Use of the SIS in the UK and Ireland is currently limited to policing
purposes, but the European Council spoke last June of further integrating the
two countries into the system.